NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Railway Station Saturday tragedy has left 18 people dead, an increase from the first reported 15 fatalities. A few others were injured when thousands of commuters converged to board trains to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The two-week event, which happens to be one of the world's largest religious congregations, was marred by an overwhelming rush of railway travelers.
Delhi’s caretaker chief minister, Atishi, expressed her condolences to the victims' families and visited LNJP Hospital, where the injured were receiving treatment. She assured affected families of the government’s support and directed officials to provide immediate assistance.
Earlier in the day, the hospital's Chief Casualty Medical Officer confirmed that 15 people, including three children, had died in the stampede, while 10 others were injured.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also went to LNJP Hospital to see the victims and ordered officials to provide appropriate relief measures. In a tweet, he wrote that the Police Commissioner and Chief Secretary had been ordered to deploy more staff to deal with the crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was deeply distressed by the tragedy and offered his condolences to the grieving families and wished the injured a quick recovery. He assured that all possible help was being given to the victims.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also spoke about the tragedy, lamenting the loss of lives and saying that the railway officials were working in full swing to help the victims and their families.
Dilip Kumar, the Executive Director of Information & Publicity in the Railway Board, admitted that a record number of passengers were at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday. In reaction, railway authorities added four special trains to ease the crowd.
Still, even with the measures, news came out that passengers were fainting because of the crowd, and they were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
To prevent the situation from worsening, authorities temporarily closed the railway station to manage the flow of passengers.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra, said that the stampede happened when huge crowds of people amassed on platform number 14, where the Prayagraj Express was halted.
Delays in the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani departures again added to congestion on platforms 12, 13, and 14. Malhotra conceded that authorities had expected a large turnout, but the situation escalated so quickly that they were caught off guard.
Given the tragedy, the Ministry of Railways has directed a high-level probe into the incident. A two-member inquiry committee has been established to identify the reason behind the stampede and recommend future prevention measures.
As per reports, around 1,500 general tickets were sold, resulting in overcrowding, especially at platform 14 and the platform 1 escalator.
Despite the commotion, railway officials have confirmed that the situation is now under control and normal train services have been resumed.
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